Create Your Online Portfolio for your Next Interview: Tutorial

Looking for a way to impress the interview committee and show your tech skills?  An online portfolio is a modern tool being used by many candidates.  Let me share a little about why you might want to consider creating this online portfolio.

First Things First:  Why?

An online portfolio is a great visual representation of your achievements, your background, and digital proof of what you can do.    Digital media allows you to add a video introduction, images of you completing tasks that relate to the position, and a great place to add your Entry Plan, Resume, Reference Letters, and a Presentation.  Think of it as a HUB for all of your great documents.

What Software Should You Use?
If you are hoping to land a job right and looking for a FREE site, Weebly is my best recommendation.

It is easy even if you are a beginner in digital platforms.

STEP 1: After you create a Weebly account, pick the theme you that fits your needs.  Since we are wanting to create a portfolio, it only seems appropriate to click portfolio.

Here are the choices of portfolio themes.  Don’t worry about what it looks like because you can customize it.  Just find the theme with the LAYOUT that you like.

STEP 2: Start customizing your site.  This part is easier to show you with a video tutorial.  To view the video- you will need FLASH on your computer.

Customize your own picture slideshow

STEP 3: Password Protect Your Site
I highly recommend protecting your information on a site that contains all of your information.  If you do not, anyone can locate your site and view your name, address, telephone number, and any other information from your resumes and documents on the site.  *Note: To use this feature of password protecting your site the free version is not available.  You will need to Upgrade your account to enable this feature.  It is well worth the price to protect your identity from being stolen.
Compare pricing guide here.

STEP 4: Publish
The site cannot be viewed without clicking publish.

STEP 5:  
Place your link on your resume and other documents for the interview committee to use.  Make sure the link is hyperlinked properly so it works for the committee.  You can check this by placing the URL (link) into your address bar of your search engine (Google, Safari, Firefox, etc)

Need some interview questions and an entry plan?

TAKE A LOOK AT A SAMPLE OF MY ONLINE PORTFOLIO

It is very easy to add an image at the top and your contact information.    Under the header, I added a short video message and a photograph of me for the committee to view before the meeting.  I created the video using QuickTime on my Mac.   I then uploaded it to YouTube but under an Unpublished Link.  This keeps anyone from viewing it unless they have the link.  As soon as you make your video just upload it into Weebly.  

The Video Message (7 mins): I took a few minutes to introduce myself by sharing my background, a little about my campus (population size of students and staff, grade levels, campus demographics, etc), and I mentioned a few awards I have received and a few awards my campus has received.  I shared three strengths of mine and a very short explanation of why these are important in a principal.  I ended by sharing what I will bring with me to an interview but a lot of the files can be viewed before the meeting.  Then I ended by thanking them for the opportunity to interview with them.  

Since the first interview may be short, I added a few important pieces of information to share with the committee.  I feel communication, discipline, data, public relations, and parent involvement are critical.  Therefore, I decided to share how I would address these as a principal on the campus.  If you are considering this section, add areas that are your strengths and topics that really showcase your expertise.   

I made all my documents downloadable and viewable.  I also added the last two years of my state accountability ratings.   

As you may already know you can add a photo gallery to your Weebly site.  I added a few images of some items I use on a daily basis.  This lets the committee see more of my strengths and skills.

This last section is a short presentation slideshow of a little about me, my campus, and how I motivate students, staff, and why they should consider me for the position.